1lilithcat
In an excellent bit of planning, Lyric Opera of Chicago is performing Beethoven's "Fidelio" at the same time Chicago Opera Theater is presenting the North American première of Ferdinando Paër's "Leonora" (first performed in 1804). They are based on the same libretto, and it was so interesting to see both productions within a few days of each other. Paër lacks the grand choruses of Beethoven's and so is more intimate and personal. The voices are different (Don Pizzarro is a tenor in Paër's version, rather than a bass as in Beethoven's) and Paër also includes comic elements.
